Risen By Dragons, Discovered By Strangers
by EliteDragonSlayer
Summary: Sasuri, a young woman, has been raised by dragons for a long time and when the one dragon she's loved more then herself is killed by men destroying her cove she decides revenge is need
1. First Discovered

  
  
  
  
  
  
~Risen~By~Dragons~  
  
~~~*~*~*~~~  
  
~Discovered By Strangers~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sasuri sat on the ground with her back leaning against the black scales of an enormous dragon, who was currently resting with it's head in her lap and his long tail encircling her waist. The great beast opened one golden eye and looked up at her. Running her hand over the dragon's neck, she sighed and looked up at the midnight sky.   
  
"What are we going to do, Diablo? Those jerks from that village are cutting through our forests like their life depends on it, and soon will reach our cove." She said to the dragon in a strange language that was probably taught to her by the dragons she lived with. She had almost completely forgotten how to speak the english language since she never needed to use it anymore as they hadn't met anyone besides the creatures of the forest for 6 years. Dilablo, as she called him, lifted his head and let out a low rumble from deep in his throat which sounded like a purr. Sasuri smirked and laughed slightly. "As much as I appreaciate your faith in me, my magic is no match for their equipment." she said, rubbing his neck again. He snapped his jaws angrily and nudged her hand. "Yes I know you can take most of them out easily, but I don't want to risk it." The dragon let out a rough sound that seemed to be a defeated sigh, and layed his head back down. Sasuri's mind started wandering and she found herself thinking about her family. *I wonder what they would say if they found out their daughter was   
raised by dragons for years after she ran away from the brothel house they ditched her in.* Sasuri Airshan, silver eyes and midnight black hair, had grown up around magic all her life and was able to conjure up many spells. After having her hometown destroyed by a war, her family left her at a brothel house and left, promising to return one day. But they had been killed just a few days after, and when Sasuri found out, she ran away into a dense forset to come upon a large dragon. She sighed again and remembered when she had first made friends with Diablo. ~After a few terrifying moments of staring the gaint reptile in the eye, she started to back away. Being 16, she knew enough not to move quickly. The dragon watched her carefully, eyeing her as she slowly backed out of his way. Suddenly, a large   
wildcat burst out of the woods. It looked like a normal day tiger, except it was black with grey stripes. Her breath caught in her throat and Sasuri froze. The wildcat stared at her then turned and ran   
at the dragon. The dragon struck him in the side with his tail and knocked him away, but the wildcat recovered and lunged at him again. Sasuri turned and ran off for a ways, then stopped and looked back at him. The dragon snarled at him and swung again, but missed and the wildcat landed on his back, then instantly dug into his side, causing the dragon to start thrashing around in pain. Sasuri bit her lip, then shook her head with a sigh and ran back to the fight. Stopping a few feet away, she held her hands closely together and concentrated. When she felt heat form in between her hands, she closed her eyes, then opened them again to reveal glittering silver eyes. Soon, a large flame formed in between her hands and she pulled away one of her hands to hold the fire in one hand. Sasuri whistled shrilly to get the animals attention, and the tiger turned to look at her, then jumped down and ran at her. She took a deep breath and released the flame. It hit the wildcat in the side, causing him to stop for a moment, but her magic was still slightly weak, so it didn't do much except burn some of his fur. The wildcat looked at her, fire in his eyes and charged at her again. "D*mn it!" She snapped. Pulling a dagger out of her pant leg she threw it, hitting the wildcat directly between his eyes and penitrating his skull, killing him quickly. Sighing, she looked up at the dragon, who was staring at her. Sasuri sighed again with with relief and started towards the edge of the forest, but stopped when she heard almost thunder-like footsteps. Slowly turning around, she found herself staring into glowing gold eyes. Swallowing hard, she watched as the dragon stared at her, then fought every instinct not to jump as the dragon lowered his head and rubbed it against her arm. Smiling with surprise and greatfulness, she ran her hands along the dragon's back.~   
Closing her eyes, she sighed and found herself dropping off into a light sleep. She sat up slightly when she felt movement beneath her and saw that Diablo had gotten up and was looking around as if   
he sensed something. She stood and looked around to see if she could see anything. Noticing movement in the bushed to her left, she got her magic ready and started towards the bush. A loud roar startled her and she turned to see Diablo laying on the ground, panting in pain. Sasuri ran over, kneeling beside him. "Diablo! Diablo, what's wrong?!" He looked at her and let out a low growl, but Sasuri shook her head. "No, I'm not leaving. Now what's wrong?" Hearing the bushes rustle, She stood and looked around for the intruder. Then she noticed the poison dart in Diablo's side. "Oh God. Show yourself now!" Sasuri snapped in the same dragon language. She then felt something hit her in the back of her head and collapsed against Diablo.  
  
  
  
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~2~hours~later~  
  
Sasuri sat up slowly, groaning, and looked around to see her surrondings. She was in a cage in some sort of aircraft, which was airborn, and then noticed an even larger cage nearby. Sasuri almost fainted with horror when she saw Diablo in the cage, barely breathing. Sasuri heard footsteps echoing down the hall and they were heading towards the room they were in. She trained her eyes on the door, waiting to see who had them caged like animals. They soon came into the room, there were 8 of them and they were all male. She glared at them and watched as they walked over to Dilablo, who was panting in pain while giving the men the evil eye. Sasuri stood and walked over to the wall of her cage, gripping the bars as she watched them enter his cage and didn't notice the one man that had hung back from the   
rest. He had short, black hair a few shade lighter then hers, and ice blue eyes. A sword hung around his   
waist and he seemed to be twenty-five or less.. He looked over at her, studying her for a moment, then walked over to her cage. She then noticed and backed away from the cage bars, glancing from him to Diablo and back. He stood by the bars, gripping one in his left hand, and just stared at her. She stared back for a moment, then walked over to the opposite side he was on and sat down with her back   
leaning against the bars, and watched the men probing Diablo with odd tools.   
  
"That your dragon?" He asked quietly. She looked at him with fire in her eyes, but didn't say anything. "How long have you lived with him? Are you going to talk to me?" She still didn't respond to him. Sighing with exasperation, he unlocked the door and walked in; she instantly backed into a corner. Walking over to her, he kneeled in front of her, waiting for her to relax. "You DO know how to speak English, don't you?" She stared at him, obviously confused. He sighed and reached out to brush some hair out of her face, but she jerked away quickly. He watched as she calmed down ever so slightly and started towards her again, but she hissed loudly and struck him across the face, digging her   
longer-then-normal nails into his face and leaving deep scratches in his face. She got up quickly and   
ran to the door, slamming it open and running over to Diablo. Pushing past the startled men and running over to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding his head gently.   
  
"Diablo, please, tell me you're okay. Look at me, please, open your eyes!" The dragon managed to open one eye and look up at her. Tears formed in her eyes and she layed her head on his. "Oh, Diablo, please, don't leave me now. You're all I have left. I need you with me. I'll find a cure for the poison these jerks put in you, just don't leave me." Diablo respoded with a low growl, and her breath caught in her throat. "No, you're not going to die, I won't allow you." She pulled out her dagger and cut her wrist, then held it to his mouth. At first, he refused, but she kept insisting, and finally, he swallowed the blood that was flowing into his jaws. After a moment, she pulled away and wrapped her arm with a cloth she stole from a traveller a few days ago and looked at him. "Are you okay, Diablo?" The dragon must have let her know that he was fine because she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him in a greatful embrace. The rest of the men stared at each other in shock, then back at Sasuri. *What in the world   
was this girl rambling on about? And in what language?* They wondered. The man she had attacked watched all of this with a look of amazement on his face. *Her blood heals.* He realized with surprise. The other men grabbed her by the arms and started to pull her away, but she fought them, struggling and yelling at them in the dragon's language.   
  
"Leave her alone. She can stay in his cage if she wishes." The men paused, then let go of her and she stumbled, then fell beside Diablo. After closing and locking the door, they left her and the dragon for the night.  
  
  
  
  
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The next morning, to her shock, she woke up tied to a wall. Looking to her left, she saw the cage she had spent the night in, and was griefstricked with worry when she saw Diablo was gone. "Diablo! Where are you? Where am I? Diablo!!"  
  
"There she goes again with the strange language." A bitter voice said from someone that was out   
of sight. She looked around and saw a man that seemed to be in his mid twenties stood with his back against the wall and his arms crossed. His silver hair was to his chin and his bangs draped over his left eye, leaving one amber colored eye showing.   
  
"I told you, Murdoc. She doesn't seem to know any English, so that's the only language she can say." The man who had confronted her said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.   
  
"I know what you said, Ryu, and I realize it's the only language she knows, but it's still as annoying as h*ll." Ryu smirked.  
  
"What did the boss do with the dragon?"  
  
"I don't know. I saw some other men drug him and take him somewhere, but that's all I saw." He muttered, watching as Sasuri struggled in her bonds and yelling at them, probably telling them to let her go. Murdoc walked up to her, quickly getting more irritated. She started snapping at him, and his eye twitched for a moment, then he struck her across her right cheek. She didn't move for a moment, stunned, then slowly lifted her head and looked up at him, shock written all over her face, and her cheek was white and slowly turning red. "Shut. Up." Murdoc hissed at her. Ryu narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything to him. Ryu was called away for a moment to the bridge, and once he was sure that Ryu was out of earshot, Murdoc lifted her chin and stared at her with annoyance in his eyes. She glared at him, obviously full of just as much dispise for him. "I don't see why Ryu is insisting on keeping you alive." He moved his hand up to her cheek and skimmed his fingers down the trembling flesh. "But that dragon could be of use." He saw the confusion and suspicion flicker through her eyes and smirked, knowing he was pressing the right buttons. "Heaven knows, he could fetch us quite a few decent meals easily." The frost in her eyes instantly turned to fire and she twisted in her bonds, trying to get loose while slinging insults at him. She didn't know what he was saying, but she knew he was insulting Diablo. "If you don't knock it off with the language, I won't be responsible for my actions." She stopped yelling at him, but not before spiting in his face. Instantly jerking out of her reach, he ran his hand over his right cheek and felt the anger inside him cause his body to start to tremble as it rose to the surface. Murdoc grabbed her by the throat and shoved her back against the wall, almost completely blocking off her airway. She gasped in pain and coughed slightly, causing him to press harder. "You think you're all that just 'cause you were raised by dragons, but you are in for a big shock. There are many peole on board who could easily skin you alive if they were told to, and I'm one of them. Push me too far, and I won't need to be instructed to do so."   
As if to prove his point, he pulled out a dagger and placed it against the skin of her throat. Murdoc applied pressure to it causing it to dig into her neck until a line of blood ran down. Just then, Ryu returned.  
  
"Murdoc, please. Not again." He said with exasperation in his voice. Murdoc, whipped around   
and looked at him for a moment, then pulled away finally. Sasuri started coughing in pain, her throat aching and the cut didn't help.Too annoyed to stick around without breaking something, he turned   
and left Ryu alone with Sasuri. Ryu walked over to her and lifted her head, causing her to flinch in shock and look up at him with her pained features. Biting his lip and an unsaid apology in his eyes,   
he lifted her chin slightly so he could get a look at the cut. It seemed shallow, but was bleeding a fair amount. Shaking his head, he pulled the cloth he kept tied around his arm off and gently cleaned away the thick liquid that was running down her neck and just starting to stain the collar of her shirt.  
  
  
  
  
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~5 days later~  
  
Sasuri was finally allowed to walk around, but only with an escort, which she was thoroughly annoyed with, and they still kept her caged like an animal. She was locked in a room with a large bed, ajoined bathroom, and a balcony. Considering they were 80 feet off the ground, they figured that she wouldn't be able to get down without killing herself. Ryu had managed to teach her to understand enough English that she could slightly understand them. Sasuri sat on the balcony railing, absently running her hand over her neck. A sudden loud roar of pain scared her, causing her to fall off. She grabbed hold of the edge of the floor, stopping herself from falling to the lake below them.   
  
"What the h*ll was that?!" She said, glancing around. Hearing footsteps coming into her room, she looked up in time to see Murdoc lean over the edge and rest his arms on the railing, watching her with interest.   
  
"What are you doing down there? That's not a safe place to hang, you know." She let go with one hand to give him a rude gesture, and pulled herself up far enough to rest her elbows on the edge. Shaking his head, he extended his hand to help her, but she slapped it away and pulled herself up the rest of the way, breathing hard. "Look, you stuck up foriegner. I have already warned you about being arrogant and rude to me. Of course, you probably don't know how to act any other way." She was able to understand enough of what he said to get mad, and struck him across his cheek. Slowly, he lifted his hand and placed it against his cheek. He looked at her in shock, then quickly felt anger take over the shock and he started towards her. Her pupils dialated with fear and she ran into her room. Sasuri twisted the handle, then slammed her shoulder against it when she found it locked. After hitting the door with her shoulder 3 times, she started pounding on it with both of her fists until they were sore and aching.   
  
Feeling a hand grabbing her shoulder, she slowly turned to see Murdoc standing behind her. His hand came flying out of nowhere and he struck her across the face, causing her to slam into the door. She winced, her eyes shut tight, then bit her lip and looked up at him, her breath quickening. He grabbed her by the back of the hair and lifted her up, causing her to cry out in pain. Managing to open one eye, she saw a predatory-like look come over him, and a smirk slid across his face. Sasuri felt the knife-edge of fear at the look in his eyes. Murdoc turned her and backed her up until they ran into the bed. He pushed her down and pinned her down to the bed. She twisted in his grip, trying to get loose, but failed. She finally stilled and looked up at him, her eyes showing almost all of her energy was gone. He was pleased to see this. *All I have to do is get her to use the rest of her energy, then she won't be able to fight back, and I'll teach her for defying me.* She closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath, and they flew back open when she felt heat pressed against her neck. Sasuri's heart started racing as she saw Murdoc kissing the side of her throat. She swallowed hard, and Murdoc must have felt her skin rise, because he raised his head, an evil smirk on his face. He seemed to be about to say something, but he stopped, gasping for breath as she slammed her knee into his gut. He was thankful that her aim hadn't been focused slightly farther down. Gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes, he was about to yell at her when he heard someone clear their throat. Jerking his head up, his face paled slightly when he saw Ryu standing at the foot of the bed, anger in his eyes. Murdoc released her arms and sat up, then quickly backed off the bed, a look of defiance in his eyes. Ryu closed his eyes, then took a deep breath and looked over at Murdoc.   
  
"I am going to say that I didn't see you about to assult Sasuri, but if I see you approach her again in any threatening manner, I will make sure that you regret even looking at her in a wrong way for the rest of your life. Now get out of my sight." Murdoc stared at him from under his bangs,   
glanced at Sasuri, who had sat up and was holding a trembling hand to her throat, out of the corner   
of his eye, then left.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Dying Hope

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~Risen~By~Dragons~  
  
~~~*~*~*~~~  
  
~Discovered By Strangers~  
  
  
  
  
~~Chapter 2~~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Murdoc walked past Ryu, receiving a strike across the back of his head as he passed. Ryu   
looked over at Sasuri who seemed thouroughly in a state of shock and terror. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump off the bed and whip around, facing him, her heart racing and her breath caught in her throat. Feeling a pang of guilt for letting Murdoc out of his sight, he approached her slowly, causing her to back up in fear until she hit the wall, then slid down to a sitting postition. He bit his lip, then walked over to her and leaned down, putting a hand on her shoulder, until he was at eye level with her. "Are you alright?" She looked up at him, not saying anything. "You okay?" She looked down, then nodded slightly. "I'm sorry about what happened. I should have been keeping a better eye on Murdoc." She knew he was apologizing for what Murdoc had done, and found herself wishing that he would just leave her alone for a few minutes so she could calm down by herself. "I'm sure that you need some time by yourself, so I'll leave you alone." Sasuri looked up in surprise, then turned away. She heard him walk out of the room and drew her knees up, wrapping her arms around them.   
  
  
"That's it. I'm leaving. She walked over to the balcony and leaned   
over the edge to see a ledge on the aircraft 50 feet away. "I should be   
able to make that." She suddenly looked closer at the ledge and was   
able to see inside the room beyond it. Inside, she saw several men trying   
to subdue Diablo. They had ropes tied around his jaws, feet, and neck, and was trying to lead him over to his cage. Diablo lifted and swung his head to the side, sending several men flying. He let out a muffled roar,   
trying to get loose. He managed to get away from the men and ran to the edge, jumped off and caught a draft of air. Sasuri watched him leave, then glanced over to the ledge and grasped the balcony rail in horror when she saw the men taking aim at him with tranquilizers that could knock him out for good. "Diablo..." She felt her heart starting to race and, without thinking, climbed up onto the railing, then jumped off ; Ryu ran out at the exact moment she jumped. He gripped the railing as he watched her fall, then almost choked in shock when he saw two holes rip in the back of her shirt, and two magnificant pitch black wings with 5 inches of midnight blue on the tips burst forth. She caught a current with her vast wingspan of at least 15 feet, and rose a few meters, then took off quickly towards Diablo. Looking back at the ledge, she realized in cold fear that they weren't   
aiming tranquilizers, they were POISON DARTS!! She turned back just as they fired 4 of them, and found herself racing the darts with all she had. *Come on, 10 feet left.* She strained hard, beating the air with her wings as hard as she could. She looked back and saw that the darts were catching up to her. She watched in horror as they slowly passed her and slammed into Diablo's side, causing him to cry out and start to fall. "Diablo!!!!" She pulled her wings back into a dive and tried to catch up   
to him. But he slammed into the ground before she could reach him and   
she pulled back, scared to see what shape he was in. Seeing some men heading towards the area where Diablo landed, she went to dive down   
to where he was, but felt something holding her back. She turned around   
in shock, and was shocked to see Ryu holding her back. "Wh-what?   
Ryu, what- how can you-" He jerked his head behind him, and she   
looked behind his shoulders to see that he had matching wings to hers, except that his were pure white. She had no idea what to say, then looked down to see they had reached Diablo, who had a broken wing and wasn't moving. She instantly twisted in his grip, trying to get loose, but he held her back, gripping her around her slender waist. She grasped his wrists and tried to pry them away, but she failed. "Let, me, GO!!!!!!!!!" She said in perfect english.  
  
  
"You're learning, good." He muttered, as he tried to hold her back. She could feel his grasp weakening because her wings were in the way of him getting a good grip. He slowly started moving backwards, his huge wings pulling them back towards the ship.   
  
  
"Let go!!!!! DIABLO!!!!!!!!!!" She felt the beginnings of her tears and tried to stop them. But she failed and they slid down her golden brown cheek, rolling down and hitting Ryu on the arm. He was startled at the splash of warm wetness, and looked at her to see she had collapsed into his arms, trying to hide her tears. He reached down with one arm and lifted her up fully, turning and heading back to the ship. He could feel her wings go limp against his forearm, and she buried her face into his now-bare chest, as he had taken off his shirt to avoid ruining it. *How was she able to let out those massive wings without doing anything to her shirt execpt making 2 foot rips in the back?* He stared at her for a moment, then stopped in midair, studying her. *She's quite the handful.* "hmmmm.....Diablo...don't...leave me...." She muttered, half asleep. Ryu closed his eyes, feeling the guilt running through him. *She certainlly know how to get whats he wants.* He thought to himself bitterly as he turned and headed back in the direction of Diablo. *No one has ever been able to manipulate me befre, not even Murdoc, and now she's doing it in her sleep. What is it with this girl that makes her so special?* He landed in the clearing where Diablo had landed, and set her down, then walked over to the giant.   
  
  
"How is he?" He asked one of the men.  
  
  
"He's almost gone sir." The man said proudly. Ryu glared at him, enraged.  
  
  
"And who told you to kill the dragon?!!"  
  
  
"Y-you did, sir."  
  
  
"I told you to shoot this dragon out of the sky and kill him?" He said slowly, the anger in his voice almost to the boiling point.  
  
  
"Well, not you directly, but we were informed that you wanted this done."  
  
  
"And who was the one who told you this?"  
  
  
"Murdoc has made your commands clear, sir." This hit him hard with shock. He stared at Diablo, who was almost finished, and walked over to him.   
  
  
"Can you still save him?"  
  
  
"I'm not sure. These darts could have done quite alot of damage that we don't know of-"  
  
  
"Well find out what the damage is and fix it!!!" He snapped harshly. "You let this dragon die, and I'll make sure that every one of you join him!!" He ran his hand over the top of his head, feeling helpless, and not liking the sensation. He ran a hand over the dragon's neck, and felt an odd sensation run through him. "Wha...what was that?" The dragon opened one eye and looked up at him. Diablo's normaly golden eye had flecks of silver swirling around inside them. *I'm not going to pull out of this.* A rich but tired voice said in his head. Ryu loked around, startled, then clued in and looked down at Diablo. "You..." *Yes, I am speaking to you through my mind. I am all that Sasuri has left for guardians, but I'll be leaving her soon so I ask of you, while abandoning all of my dignatiy, that you   
take care of her until she can find a sutible home. As much as I loathe you other humans, my love for Sasuri overrides it. I am giving you the ability to speak our language as a way to let her know that I wish I could have lived with her longer, and I apologize.* Ryu felt something like warm water running through him, and looked over as he heard groaning, to see that Sasuri had woken up.   
  
  
"Diablo!!! Oh god, Diablo, are you okay? Please tell me your okay." Ryu stepped back to let her talk to him, watching all this in shock, as he could now understand what they were saying. "What, no!! You're not going to leave me with these men, are you? You...." "Him? Diablo, I don't want to live with him. I want to stay with you." Diablo growled low but dangerously, causing Sasuri to step back slightly. Diablo let out a growl that sounded like a sigh and Sasuri felt tears come to her eyes, as his closed, and she fell to her knees, torn by her only friend's death as the dragon's last breath slipped out of his lungs. Sasuri slid over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, crying softly. As the other men left,   
Ryu got to his knees beside her and put an arm around her shoulder. She didn't move for a moment, then turned back at stared at him for few seconds. Suddenly, her hand whipped out and she struck him hard. "*sshole. How could you do this to me?" As she was speaking in the dragon tongue, she didn't expect him to answer, but he looked over at her, rubbing his cheek.   
  
  
"I didn't order the men to do that. Murdoc did. Not me." She looked shocked at the fact that he understood her, and was even more shocked at the fact that she could understand HIM.  
  
  
"Y-you can speak my..."  
  
  
"Yeah. Somehow, Diablo was able to grant this gift to me before he..." She looked down at the ground again, then stood quickly.  
  
  
"Murdoc sent them?!" She instantly let out her wings and took off to the sky. Ryu groaned, let his own wings out and took off after her. She looked behind her, and saw Ryu wa squickly catching up to her. *D*mn!!!! He's faster then I think. Well, he wants a show, I'll give him one.* Closing her eyes, she strained her wings, and pulled ahead 20 feet. Glancing back, she saw he had moved ahead 30 feet, and was almost behind her. *Oh no. He's NOT gonna catch me. I am gonna hunt Murdoc down, and-* She was interupted as he caught her around her waist. "Let me go!! Please, just let me hurt him a little, he ordered them to kill Diablo! PLEASE!!!! Ryu, I'm begging you!!!! Let me go!"   
  
  
"Sasuri, no. Killing Murdoc won't bring back Diablo!! It's alright, I understand why your upset, but-"  
  
  
"How can you understand how mad and upset I am? To lose the only friend in the world. Now that Diablo's gone, I have no one!!!! How do tyou know how that feels? You have no idea."  
  
  
"Is that what you think? Well I have something to tell you. Do you know why I have this group of men here?" She looked at him, confused. "Because I wanted revenge on the people who killed my entire family in one shot." She was startled at this. "Right in front of my eyes, when I was 16, 4 men came into our home. They killed my mother, father, and 2 brothers, then hung their bodies up and burned them. The only reason I survived was because I got onto one of our horses and took off. The only other family member who survived was my sister who, if she wa salive, would be around your age now. For 4 years, I hunted the people who killed my parents, until I had almost killed myself 8 times. I then realized that risking my own life for something that wouldn't bring back the people I loved was foolish."  
  
  
"So instead, you dedicate your life to destroying the forests and villages?" Sasuri retaiated.  
  
  
"That's not my choice. I have a commander who I've got to listen to. Also, this position gives me many chances to find my sisters." He glanced behind her at her wings, and ran his hand over them. She stared at him, not knowing what to say. "You have the Black Wings." He said in a hushed whisper. She winced as he said this. There were three sets of extremely rare wings that people are born with. The White Wings were all white, and the sign of a person who possesses white magic. The Black Wings were all black, and were a sign of someone who possesses black magical powers. But he couldn't remember what the Ebony Wings stood for. He glanced at the ends of her wings, which she was quickly pulling in, and could see that they had midnight blue on the ends, and his breath caught in his throat. *She's got the Ebony Wings.* He realized. Since she seemed ashamed as it was, he didn't show his shock. "We should head back to the ship now, it's getting dark." Since she didn't answer, he took it as a sign that she didn't care. Gathering her in his arms, he headed back to the ship, landed on her balcony when they got back, and pulled in his wings. Slipping into her room, he layed her down on the bed, pulling the blood red blankets over her, then turned to the balcony doors, locked them with a key, and left the room, locking the door behind him with the same key, then headed back to his own room, deciding that he would deal with Murdoc later on tomorrow.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. ____________(need name badly)

Sasuri woke up the next morning, but didn't open her eyes immediantly. She was praying that this whole thing was a nightmare. *When I open my eyes, I'll find myself in the woods, leaning against Diablo.* She finally opened her eyes, and found herself looking into two golden, curious   
eyes. Her eyes widened and she held her breath, her lip trembling, then let out a cry and flung back the blankets covering her, falling out of bed in the process. Landing on her back, she looked up and watched in the still dark morning as the small form got off the bed; all she was able to make out were those peircing eyes and a faint outline, and crawled across the floor towards her. She backed away, terror striking through her for a split second. She hit the wall and tensed up as the form crawled up onto her chest. Sasuri felt something like a forked tongue flick over her cheek and closed her eyes.   
  
"JACKNIFE!!!!!" A voice shrieked. The torches went on and a small girl around 13 ran in. Sasuri looked down at her chest and saw a small dragon staring at her, it's head cocked to the side, tongue flicking in and out and smoke furling slowly from it's nostrils. She stared at the dragon, stunned at how much the small, baby dragon looked like Diablo. "I am so sorry." The little girl said, scooping the dragon up in her arms, her purple hair fluttering into her silver eyes. "I turn my back on him for a moment and he's gone." She looked at Sasuri. "He didn't bite you, did he?" Sasuri stared at her for a moment.  
  
"No, no he didn't."  
  
"Good. Sorry if he scared you!" She called out as she ran out of the room. Sasuri sat where she was for a moment. After a second, she stood and walked over to the dresser across   
from her bed and started exploring. To her horror, the only clothing she was able to find were   
dresses. "They expect me to wear these." She muttered to herself. "I can't believe this." Feeling a   
low throb below her shoulder, she glanced at it and saw a bite that was bleeding rather badly.   
"Well, d*mn. I guess he did bite me." She studied the wound on her arm, wiping off the blood that   
was running down her arm. Just then, 3 handmaidiens came into the room, and dragged her into a seperate chamber.  
  
  
  
  
When Ryu walked in to check on Sasuri, he found her standing amungst handmadiens, her arms crossed and an extremely infuriated look on her face. As he looked over the sight before him, he found it hard to find his voice, let alone his breath. It was a sleek, titanium sliver dress that stopped at her ankles, and had the sleeves stopping in the middle of her well toned upper arms. Her hair had been brushed back so it fell in sleek waves down her back which the dress had left bare. Her eyes flicked over to rest on him, and she sighed, rolling her eyes and muttering about men. When the madiens finally backed away and left the two alone at last, Sasuri stared at Ryu for a moment, then walked over to where the madiens had thrown her training clothing as they looked through the bag that she carried her possessions in (money, food, weapons, training clothing, personal belongings, etc.) for any, "decent clothing", as they put it. When they didn't find any, they had retreated to putting one of the dresses in the closet on her.   
  
Snatching her clothing, she walked in behind the changing screen and started to change. "If one more handmadien comes at me with a dress, or even touches me, I will break their fingers, then their wrists, then their necks. And I am fully capable of doing just that." Ryu turned away from the sight before him, having trouble breathing properly.   
  
"So what do you plan on doing now?" He asked her, talking in the Dragon tongue as she didn't know enough of the English language to have a flowing conversation.  
  
"Is there a training room around here?"  
  
"Five, actually."  
  
"Which one will I have an extremely good chance of NOT running into Murdoc in? Or anyone else for that matter."  
  
"That would be the last one. MY training room. No one but me usually goes in. I don't know why, since as long as they clean up afterwards, I don't care if they use it."  
  
"Perfect." She muttered as she walked out, combing her hair back with her fingers, then grabbing her bag and, checking the bandage on her arm that the madiens had put on for the bite that the little dragon Jacknife had given her, walking out of the room. Ryu watched as the door slammed shut behind her, startled.  
  
  
  
  
  
When he walked into the training room, he found her already panting and sweating from her workout.   
  
"Want a sparring partner?" He asked. She stared at him for a moment, contemplating it, then smirked, one hand on her hip.  
  
"Fine, but no weapons. Only had-to-hand combat."  
  
"Fine with me."  
  
  
  
~10~minutes~later~  
  
Ryu blocked the well aimed fist coming at his face, then the one directed to his waist, yet wasn't able to block her next fluid movement and recieved a powerful roundhouse kick to the chest. He stumbled back a few paces, and she went back to the starting stance, a confidant, almost mocking glint in her eye. Recovering almost instantly, he stepped forward, then blocked three more attacks before he managed to land one on her. But she either barely felt it or ignored it, as she layed a series of hits against him, turning on the spot and attacking him with both her fists and her feet. He grabbed her foot and flipped her, but she landed on her feet and attempted another roundhouse. This one was not as successfull, as he blocked it and managed to swing in behind her and gripped her around the waist, pinning her arms down. After struggling in his grip for a moment, she managed to flip backwards and got loose, then went back into the starting position.   
  
"I have been beaten many times by that move, so I studied it the closest and found a way out." She explained, her eyes never leaving him as he circled her.  
  
"You're good, Sasuri. Almost as good as I am."  
  
"No." She said, grinning. "I'm better." With this said, she started attacking him again. No matter what hold he put her in, she always managed to find a way out of it. *There is just no way of beating her. It's like she's unstoppable. But there has to be a way to beat her somehow. What's her weakness?* He grunted as she landed a powerful blow with her heel to his stomach. *She was risen by dragons, so...how do you beat a dragon?* He then got an idea. When she swung at him again, he managed to get out of her range, then before she could regain her balance, moved to trip her. As he expected, she backflipped over his leg, then turned a few more to regain her balance. To her shock, the moment she came to rest, she felt something trip her and she fell onto her stomach, then rolled over to see Ryu standing over her. She went to flip up onto her feet, but he grabbed her by the leg, so she slammed her foot into his stomach, causing his grip to to loosen, allowing her to get away, resting on her knees. Rubbing his waist, he looked up at her.   
  
"I think it's safe to say that this round was a well earned draw." He muttered, wincing as   
he breathed in. She sighed, panting as hard as he was, and hung her head, trying to catch her breath. Ryu looked her over to see if he inflicted any serious injuries, and saw some blood running down her arm.  
  
"Sasuri, your arms bleeding. I didn't do that, did I?" She glanced at her arm and sighed.  
  
"No. This morning, a little black dragon named Jacknife came into my room and bit me while I was sleeping. The maidens wrapped it, and the bandage must have come loose when we were fighting." She explained as she straightened out the saturated cloth, then stood. "So, do you have any plans for today, or does everyone sit around doing nothing in this place?" She asked with a sour note in her voice. He shook his head.   
  
"Not that I know of, but we might get word from our commander to-"  
  
"To go out and create another massive slaughter, while claiming more land for your   
leader and causing millions of people's lives to be ruined as their blood stains the ground?" She demanded, crossing her arms. He just raised an eyebrow at this remark.  
  
"I wouldn't have had such a morbid approach to it, but yeah, basically." She seemed absoulutely horrified at this, so he laughed. "Relax, I wasn't planning anything of the sort."   
  
"Very funny, I just loved the way you gave my heart what was as possibly close to a heartattack without actually having one." She snapped, standing and walking over to her sack to pull out a towel and ran it over her face and neck, then thrusted it back into her bag before peeling the old bandage off. Ryu came over and took hold of her arm, studying the bite. She tried to wrench her arm out of his grasp, but failed, so she gave up and let him examine her wound. "It's not that bad." She snapped.  
  
"Sasuri.....what did you say the dragon's name was?"   
  
"Jacknife, well, that was what the little girl that came in to get him called him, why?"  
  
"What little girl?" He asked, his head jerking up, startling her.  
  
"I-I don't know, I didn't get her name. Why? Ryu, what's going on?"  
  
"Sasuri, there's no little girl on board here."  
  
"What?" She was stunned. "Then who was the girl that came in to get the dragon?" Ryu seemed confused for a moment, then looked down at her wound.   
  
"Well, it doesn't seem infected, and it looks pretty much healed, but you will have a scar." Sasuri stared at the bite.   
  
"But it was just bleeding a second ago."   
  
"I know, but you do have blood that heals, remember?"  
  
"Heals others, not myself."  
  
"That must suck." He muttered, running his finger around the new scar. She looked at the scar, then down at the floor. Ryu could practically feel her mood change, so he lifted her chin with his free hand, and was surprised to see tears just starting to form. She quickly stopped them and looked away. "Sasuri? Is something wrong?" She shook her head.  
  
"No, nothing's wrong."  
  
"You miss Diablo. It's a little obvious. I would say I know how you feel, but I doubt you would believe me." He took hold of her hand, brought it to his lips and brushed it with a light touch, then placed it on his shoulder. Amused at her shocked look, he did the same with her other hand and placed his hands on her hips. She felt a blush rising up her face at the sudden movement.   
  
Sasuri saw something in his eyes that she had never seen in anyone else's: compassion.   
Her breath caught in her throat, and Ryu felt a shiver run through her body. She saw something flicker through Ryu's eyes; something about the look on his face had her tensing up. Ryu could see she was nervous and had a feeling that this was a first for her, so he knew he had to leave it at a gentle gesture, instead of letting out the want that had been building up in him.   
  
Sasuri swallowed hard and as she watched, Ryu started to lean forward slowly, causing her heart to speed up. She knew exactly what he was going to do, and, though she felt herself wanting to lean forward as well, she couldn't move.   
  
Soon Ryu was just a whisper away from her trembling mouth, and almost had to remind himself to breathe.  
  
"Ryu-" The next words went sliding down her throat as Ryu silenced her with a gentle, almost hesitant kiss. The reaction he found there had him reeling; her didn't expect her to feel as tempting pressed up against him the way she was. The female taste to her was powerful, yet almost fearful, had him deepening the kiss, searching for more as she angled her mouth to fit his. Before she realized what she was doing, she had fisted her hand in his hair, strengthening her end. He had to pull away for several reasons: he was running out of air, someone was knocking at the door, but mainly because he knew that if he didn't stop now, he wouldn't be able to stop at all. He looked down at her and saw she was breathing hard, close to panting, and her eyes were, if possible, even wider with shock.  
  
"I'm coming already!" He snapped to the impatient banging. After a glance at Sasuri and a stroke over her cheek, he turned and left, snapping at the man who had come for him. Sasuri fell to he knees where she stood, ready to collapse. She touched her mouth lightly, then looked up at the door.  
  
"Did that just happen?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Well? What did you think? I know!! You can tell me in, a, REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!   
Please? Don't you think that I've worked hard enough for one, even if this chapter   
sucks? PPPPLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAEESSSSSSEEEEEE????????? 


	4. Deadly New Abilities

Sasuri tossed in her sleep, her dreams haunted by blood and death. She'd been tormented by these dreams ever since her county had been attacked, but being with Diablo had put them on hold for a while. Now, they were back and worse then ever.   
  
Ryu stared down at her, watching as she broke out into a cold sweat, and felt guilt wash through him. *It's all my fault. I'm the one who ordered the men to clear the forest she was living in. Now, she's here, without Diablo, and I'm to blame.* He sat down on the edge of the bed and ran his fingers over her damp forehead. At this movement, she calmed down slightly, her breathing slowing.   
  
Sasuri woke up then and bolted upright, instantly wrapping her arms around the nearest thing, which in this case was a very statled Ryu. Sasuri finally broke down and cried into his chest. Ryu didn't say anything ; He just wrapped his arms around her and rocked back and forth slightly. After a moment, she finally calmed down.  
  
"Sasuri? Are you alright? Will you tell me what you were dreaming about?" She sighed.  
  
"You wouldn't understand it." He was a little hurt by this statment, but he tried to hide it.  
  
"Anything I can do to help?" Ryu asked gently. He pulled away and looked down at her. She must have been embarassed about the way she was acting, because she wouldn't look him in the eye. "Will you be okay for now, or would you like me to stay a little longer?" She shook her head.  
  
"No, I'll be okay by myself. Go get some rest." Ryu turned away and left, leaving her to her thoughts.  
  
  
~The~next~week~  
  
Sasuri was sitting in a private part of the library, going over her English lessons, one hand pressed to her forehead in concentration. Her english was improving, but she was still having some trouble having a conversation without stumbling over a lot of the words. So she'd been assigned to some extra studying.   
  
She heard the door open, but ignored it. She had grown used to people coming in and out. Yet, she wasn't able to ignore the two arms that were encircling her neck. And she could tell by the dragon hide gloves that it wasn't Ryu. "Murdoc, let go of me." He smirked, then trailed his mouth along her collarbone. She closed the book she was holding, gripped his wrists, and tried to pry them off. "Murdoc, let go."   
  
"But why? I do so enjoy this." She sighed, and then, before he had time to comprehende what happened, had him pinned down on the floor, face first with his hand pinned behind his back, and gripping his hair so his head was pulled back far enough that he could see her.  
  
"Newsflash: I DON'T like it, and you had d*mn well better stop, because I can have you down like this with a broken arm faster then you can breathe. Am I clear on that?"  
  
"Your english has improved greatly." He snapped. "Too bad your manners haven't!!" He managed to roll over and break her grip on him, then tackled her, holding her down by her wrists. She couldn't move her upper half, so she took the other option and brought her knee up hard. Her aim was off, but she got the reaction she wanted. Sasuri had hit him in the gut, causing him to gasp and groan for a moment. She pushed him off of her and glared at him as he gripped his waist, breathing hard. She got up and started to walk out of the room, but he grabbed her by the calf, causing her to fall on her stomach. He pulled her towards him, not pleased in the least.   
  
Murdoc rolled her over and pinned her hands down with his knees so he was sitting on her waist. He then proceeded to strike her in the ribs and across the face.  
  
Sasuri struggled to gain some control, but failed. He stopped to catch his breath, and looked her over. She had blood running out of her lip, a bad cut above her eye and was groaning. He stared down at her, an evil glint in his eye. He gripped her by the chin, and pressed his lips against hers, shocking her. She struggled to pull away, but she couldn't move. He pulled away after a moment, a broad smirk on his face. She layed still, panting, swearing at him between gasps. "Quite a vocabulary you have." He leaned in closer. "I love it." He was about to kiss her again, but froze when he heard footsteps coming down the hall. Murdoc got up and walked out onto the balcony, climbing over the side and disappearing.   
  
She sat up, getting to her knees and holding her hand to her lip. Her ribs were aching; she'd be shocked if none of them were broken. Sasuri looked up as the door opened, and sighed when Ryu walked in.  
  
"Oh, no. Murdoc again?" He asked. She nodded, wiping the blood off of her chin. "I'm so sorry Sasuri. I should have known he'd do this again. Come on." He helped her up and took her to her room.  
  
  
  
Sasuri watched as Ryu soaked a cloth in alcohol and ran it over her wounds. she flinched, not at the stinging sensation, but at his touch as his fingers gently brushed her face. He noticed, and wished that he could prove to her that she could trust him. Regardless of all that had happened, she still destested humans.  
  
When he finished with her wounds, Ryu walked into the bathroom to put the blood soaked rags in the trash. He walked back out into the bedroom to find it empty. Walking out onto the balcony, he found black and dark blue feathers scattered over the floor. "Sasuri..." He sighed, looking over the edge for any signs of her.  
  
~*~  
  
Ryu landed and looked around, wondering where she could have went. He had an idea of where she might have gone, and headed to the cave where he first found her and Diablo.  
He saw he was right when he found heron her knees by a large cave. A closer look showed she had just finished burying something and was now carving something with her dagger.  
  
Sasuri jumped up as she saw him enter the clearing, gripping something in her hand tightly. She watched him carefully as he approached her.  
  
He studied the object in her hand, realizing what it was made of. "Sasuri, why do you have a dragon's brestbone?" *She's making it into a staff.* He concluded when she didn't answer.  
  
Sasuri tightened her hold on the hand-carved staff, watching him as he stepped towards her. When she felt he was close enough, she held the staff out, pointing it right at him.  
  
"Don't come any closer." She said in a dangerous tone.  
  
Ryu instantly came to a stop, not liking the tone in her voice.  
  
"Sasuri, I don't know what you're doing here, but you need to come back to the airship." He said quietly, stepping closer. He instantly regretted it.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere I don't want to!!" Her silver eyes clouded over and her hair blew back by an unseen wind as she raised the staff, glaring at him, and he just barely missed getting hit by a bolt of lightning that seemed to come out of the staff itself. "Now," she said as she calmed down, her hair and eyes returning to normal, but still holding her staff pointed at him. "Leave here, or next time, I won't miss." *Oh no. A dragon's breastbone holds powerful magic. She's tapped into it to strengthen hers! With the combined powers of the Ebony Wings and the staff, she'll be alomst unstoppable.*   
  
"Sasuri, exactly what do you plan to accomplish?"  
  
"If you must know, I plan on resurrecting Diablo so I don't have to live with you human filth any more!"  
  
"Sasuri, you can't escape humans becasue you're human as well." Sasuri's eyes filled with anger, and she prepared to take another shot at Ryu, but Ryu was quicker. Before she had time to defend herself, Ryu had her pinned against a tree, the hand holding the staff pinned behind her.  
  
"Ryu please, let me go!! Don't make me go back, I want to stay with Diablo!!'  
  
"Sasuri!!" Ryu finally had enough. "I don't care HOW strong your magic is, even with the staff! You won't be able to bring Diablo back! you'll just end up killing yourself." Sasuri stared at him for the longest time, then Ryu heard the clatter of her staff falling to the ground. She practically went limp with defeat, and would have slipped through his arms if he hadn't changed his grip. He gently picked her up, but she instantly refused, struggling to get down.  
  
"Let me go! Put me down right now! I told you, I don't need your help, and i told you, I don't WANT to go back!!!" Ryu completely ignored her, and started back to the airship.  
  
A while later, Ryu boarded the air ship and walked down the hall with an unconcious Sasuri over one shoulder and gripping her staff in the other hand, completely ignoring the stares he   
was getting, and the questions being asked.   
  
Murdoc watched him walk down the hall, narrowing his eyes as Ryu passed him without even looking at him. He walked alongside Ryu, his eyes hard and accusing.  
  
"I don't see why you keep bringing her back." He snapped. "She's more trouble then she's worth."  
  
"She possesses powers far stronger then my own Murdoc, and she plans on using them against us. I cannot allow that to happen." Murdoc watched as Ryu entered her room and layed her down on the bed, waked over to her balcony doors and locked them. After leaving and closing the door, he locked it as well. Murdoc laughed harshly.  
  
"What's wrong Ryu? Scared she'll kill you in your sleep?"  
  
"Just a precaution, so certain people won't bother her." Murdoc grinned.  
  
"I figured she'd tell you. But I don't see why you care. She doesn't care about you. Besides, didn't you get enough action from Rashika-" He was cut short as Ryu's fist smashed into the jaw, slamming him up against the wall, where Ryu glared at him, pressing his fist into Murdoc's throat.  
  
"I don't EVER want to hear you mention her again. Not after what you did to her. And you lay a hand on Sasuri ever again, I'll follow through with the threat I made that day. Is this in any waay unclear?" At first, Murdoc just sneered, but when Ryu pressed harder, cutting off his air, he managed to nod. Ryu pulled away, letting Murdoc stumble to his balance, then stalked off.  
  
"I'll do whatever the h*ll I want, Ryu." He muttered, glancing at Sasuri's door before leaving. 


	5. Eyes Of A Lost Soul

~Risen~By~Dragons~  
~~~*~*~*~~~  
~Discovered By Strangers~  
  
~~Chapter 5~~  
  
  
  
  
Ryu stormed into his room and tossed the staff onto the bed, stripping off his gloves and heading instantly towards the bathroom, pausing at the door to glance at the staff and reflect on what just happened.  
  
  
A while later, Ryu stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in only his pants and drying his hair with a towel. He stared at the staff on his bed, then walked over and picked it up. He studied the staff, spotting some symbols on the top. *These markings look like the seven elements!* He walked over to the desk, set the staff down, and pulled out a book from the shelf. He flipped through the pages until he found a page with the same symbols on them. *Wind, Fire, Water, Electricity, Earth, Dark and Holy. They ARE the seven elements. She can conjure up any spell with this staff, and I think I know what she intends to do with the holy sign. She really was going to resurrect Diablo. But if she does, she kill herself. She's not strong enough to handle that much power.*   
  
He dropped the book onto the desk and walked over to the window. *I have to keep her from the woods. I can't allow her to attempt it.* Glancing back to the book, his eyes caught sight of the words, "People who possess the Ebony Wings also possess..." Ryu walked over to the book and picked it up, reading the paragraph where he spotted the words that had sent a brief chill up his spine. What he read after them had his blood close to freezing: "...the abilities to control the two most rare dragons, the Black dragon and the Silver dragon. Therefore, they can also manipulate the Black and White dragon's powers, the Black's breath that disintegrates, and the Silver's breath that heals."  
  
  
  
  
Sasuri woke up then, and sat up, gripping her head where Ryu had hit her.   
  
"Why do humans always have to ruin everything I do?" She muttered, getting up and walking over to the balcony doors. She tugged on the handle to open them, sighing when she found them locked. Finding the door leading to the hall closed as well, she slammed her fist against the wood, then leaned against it, giving up for a while. "I was so close to bringing you back, Diablo." She straightened and walked over to the bed, sitting down and holding her chin in her hands, watching the forest in the window. "But I will, and if Ryu gets in the way one more time, he'll regret it."  
  
  
  
  
That night, a dark form entered Ryu's room, coming in from the balcony. Murdoc looked around carefully, glaring at the sleeping form on the bed.   
  
He grinned as his eyes landed on Sasuri's staff. Walking over, he picked it up and strapped it to his back, then left, climbing down from the side of the balcony and jumping back down onto his own.  
  
"I may not possess any of the wings, but with this staff, I'll still be able to beat the two of those feathered freaks." He hissed, grinning.   
  
  
  
  
The next day, Ryu searched the entire air ship, but couldn't find Murdoc. *Damnit!! I know he took the staff. Sasuri is going to kill me!!!* He sighed, then slowly made his way to Sasuri's room.  
  
"Sasuri?" He called, knocking on the door. When no responce came, he unlocked the door then slowly pushed it open. Sasuri was sitting on the floor in front on the window, staring down at the scenery. "Sasuri." She slowly turned to him, and he was shocked to see tears, "Sasuri what is it?"  
  
"Murdoc stole my staff, and he's going to resurrect Diablo." She whispered, then buried her head into her knees, which were pulled up to her chest.  
  
"Oh, god. Sausri, I'm so sorry." He said, stepping forward, getting to his knees and holding her against his chest, where she cried for all she was worth. Sasuri calmed down after a while and curled further into his chest, wiping the tears away.  
  
Both of them jumped when something ran into the window, then ducked as a fireball crashed through the glass, raining shards all the room. Getting to their feet, they stared out the window, Sasuri choking on her breath, tears flooding back as Murdoc rose into view, on the back of Diablo.  
  
"Diablo!!!" Sasuri cried, running forward. She was quickly jerked back from the ledge by Ryu, and fought to get away. "Let him go!!!! Murdoc, let him go!!!!!! Diablo!!!!!! Get OFF him Murdoc!!" Ryu looked out the window, dodging Sasuri's fists as she tried to push him away. Murdoc smirked at the two of them, then hissed something at Diablo and the dragon's eyes turned red before letting out a wall of fire that consumed the entire room. Ryu got to his knees, bringing Sasuri with him and sheltering her, then putting up a magic barrier that blocked the flames. She buried her face into his collarbone and he watched the flames streak by, then glared at Murdoc.  
  
Murdoc laughed evily, his eyes flashing.  
  
"The tables are turning, Ryu!! No longer do I have to obey your every command!!! With this staff, I have the precious Diablo, and any other dragon I want!!!!!" With this said, he yelled at Diablo and the two of them took off, Murdoc's laughter carrying over the wind. Sasuri pushed away from Ryu and ran to the ledge, then fell to her hands and knees amoung the flames, tears pouring freely.  
  
"I've lost him. I've lost Diablo. After all we've been through..." Ryu stepped forward, but stopped when she got to her feet and swung around, throwing a fist at him. "This is all your fault!! If you'd let me resurrect him when I had the chance, he'd be with us, instead of that monster!!!!!" Ryu blocked her attacks, then caught her when she collapsed, worn out. Sasuri had no tears left to cry, but her body was still wracked with harsh sobs. She sat there, hunched over slightly, calming down. Ryu pulled away and lifted her chin to look at her, but she turned away; she would not look him in the eye.  
  
"We'll get him back Sasuri. I promise, I'll find a way to help you."   
  
"Yeah, you've been doing a great job of that so far." Her words hurt him deep down, but he refused to let it show. He winced as the ship shuddered again, and looked up to see at least 6 fire dragons attacking the airship. *Damn it!! We've gotta get out of here!* He knew Sasuri wasn't going to move on her own, so he picked her up and ran out of the room. Coming to a stop in the artillary room, he placed Sasuri on her feet and shook her gently.  
  
"Sasuri, snap out of it. I need you help. I need your magic and logic to help me beat Murdoc and Diablo."  
  
"I can't.....I can't fight Diablo....." She whispered, her eyes slowly going vacent. "I can't do it Ryu.....I....." Ryu had finally had enough.  
  
"SASURI!!!!!! KNOCK IT OFF!!!!!!!!!" He yelled at her. This didn't phase her at first. She just stood there, completely out of it. Her eyes had clouded over, then suddenly closed and she collapsed. Ryu caught her and tried to wake her up. He winced and cursed as the ship shuddered again. Picking her up fully, he walked over to the edge of the balcony. Letting his wings out, Ryu left the castle and flew away until he reached the outskirts of the next city. Landing, he entered it, addressing himself as Prince Ryu, mentally wincing at this, and asked of the village to leave Sasuri in the local healing house. When she was taken care of, he left and flew back to his castle, preparing for a fight with Murdoc.  
  
  
  
  
Sasuri was laying very still on a bed in the villiage. She was so still, that if her chest hadn't been moving ever so slightly, that she seemed as if she were dead. Sasuri was lost deep in her own mind. Her loss of Diablo had been too much for her to handle, and she'd pulled back to the darkest recesses of her mind.   
  
  
  
Ryu closed his eyes and grit his teeth, trying his hardest to keep his heat beam as strong as Murdoc's was. He could feel his energy starting to drain, but swallowed hard and forced Murdoc's beam back several feet, startling both of the men. Murdoc growled deeply and yelled at Diablo to attack him. The dragon's eyes went red again and he shot a fireblast at Ryu. Ryu tried to dodge the blast and keep the heat beam going, but he accidentally broke the beam off when he dodged the blast and Murdoc's beam hit him in the chest, knocking him back several feet. When he came to a stop, he was leaning back against the wall, groaning. *Sasuri.....I need your help, Sasuri.....* Shaking his head, he got up and walked to the edge of the shattered room.  
  
"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" Murdoc asked quietly, grinning evily as Ryu faced him again. *I've got to win, to convince Sasuri that I AM on her side. I've got to get Diablo back for her.*  
  
  
  
  
~~Sasuri.....I need your help, Sasuri.....~~ A quiet voice reached out to Sasuri, the words brushing over her like a light wind. She wanted to answer them, but she didn't want to leave the corner she was huddled in. She was curled into a ball, trembling. *I'm sorry....I can't do it......I can't fight Diablo.....And I'm too weak to fight Murdoc....I.....my magic....it's........it's not strong enough......I'll never be able to fight......* She curled even tighter into a ball, trembling.  
  
  
Outside her mind, her body started to tremble. The healing wife noticed, and pitied the poor girl who was lost in her own mind. The woman pulled a blanket over Sasuri's shaking form and left the girl to fight the demons of fear and doubt by herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: *sighs with exhuastion* about time I got this out. I had the worst time trying to post this. it would never come out. Chapter six is almost done, and I have my two favorite muses to thank for that. *grins as she glances over at Bakura and Kaiba, both of them tied and gagged and yelling at her.* For the last time!! if you'd just kept your mouth shut, you wouldn't be in this position. *shrugs at readers* they got mad at me because i wanted to put them in a yaoi together. *grins meanly at the two, who instantly shut up.* I can be so mean sometimes. 


	6. Clash of the Powers

Ryu swore as his arm throbbed from where a large shard of glass had sliced it open. Using   
his shirt to wrap it, he watched Murdoc from where he was hiding behind an overturned tree. Murdoc had that evil grin in place and was ordering Diablo to destroy the forest. All Ryu could do was watch from where he was kneeling as Diablo breathed a dark mist over all the trees and plants, causing them   
to wilt and decay, then destroying what was left behind by letting loose several blasts of fire.   
  
Realizing Murdoc's back was to him, Ryu started to concentrate on gathering energy in his hands. A white hot sensation ran through his arms, and it stung like mad, but he ignored the pain, and kept concentrating, forming the energy into what looked like a bow and arrow. Placing the sizzling arrow on the bow, he took careful aim.  
  
  
  
Murdoc jumped as he sensed a power growing larger and turned around just in time to see a white energy arrow come flying at him and hit him in the side. The arrow tore through him and burst out the other side, sending blood flying eveywhere. He stared down at his side in shock, then looked over at Ryu, hissing through his teeth.  
  
"Why you..." Ryu froze, then swore as he watched Murdoc pull out a vial of a silver liquid and pour it onto his battered side, instantly healing the wound. *White dragon's blood.* Ryu realized before forming another arrow and shooting it again.  
  
Murdoc ducked, then realized it wasn't aimed at him, but instead at the hand holding the staff. The arrow struck his fingers, slicing them open and causing him to lose his grip on the staff, which clattered to the ground. Gripping his hand in shock and yelling at Ryu, Murdoc didn't notice that Diablo had stopped destroying the forest until the lizard knocked him off. Diablo was now uncontrolled, and very confused. Not knowing who to obey, he proceeded to destroy the entire forest and everything around him.  
  
  
Ryu dove for the staff, but didn't make it as Murdoc tackled him and sent the two of them into a wrestling match. Ryu struggled to gain control of the fight, but Murdoc managed to push them closer towards the fan of fire that had been created. He started to gasp for breath as Ryu managed to dig his thumbs into his throat, cutting off his air supply. After a moment, Ryu pressed his feet against Murdoc's chest and pushed him off, sending the silver haired man rolling back several meters until he came to a stop, rubbing his throat and coughing.  
  
  
  
Sasuri could sense a fight far away from her, and was able to recognize Diablo and the two men fighting over him. *I have to help them. But I can't....I can't fight Diablo.* She stood, looking around at her surroundings. All she could see was darkness. But the darkness was somewhat comforting. Letting out a sigh, she sat back down. *I'm not going out there. If I do, I'll have to fight Diablo, and I cannot, and will not, do that.* She then heard a far off roar and jumped.  
  
Sasuri's body convulsed sharply, startling everone in the room. After a moment, she settled back down.  
  
*That was Diablo.* She realized. *What if he's hurt? Ryu would have enough trouble with Murdoc. I....I need to....to go help them, to go help Diablo.* She sighed and got to her feet. *No more running.*  
  
Sasuri's body convulsed again, then her eyes slowly opened and she sat up quickly as she heard a roar again and then an explosion.  
  
"Diablo!!"  
  
  
Sasuri stumbled out of the village, glancing around wildly, listening for any signs of Diablo. Hearing a roar and crashes to the east, she ran in that direction.  
  
  
  
Murdoc sneered at Ryu evily as he pushed him closer to the edge of the cliff. He dug his feet in, preventing Ryu from pushing him any farther. Managing to change his grip, he shoved Ryu back. Ryu glanced behind him and saw the staff laying several meters away from him. Turning, he ran for it, but Murdoc tackled him from behind, sending the two rolling.  
  
They came to a stop a few feet away from the staff, but Murdoc had Ryu pinned face down in the ashes, not allowing him to breathe. Ryu struggled for a few minutes, then stilled. Murdoc didn't move, then got up, panting. To his shock, Ryu leapt to his feet and swung a fist at him, connecting with his jaw. Murdoc stumbled back and fell to the ground, blood running from the corner of his mouth. Ryu stood over him, blood smeared on his fist.   
  
Murdoc wiped his chin off, then looked up at Ryu, glaring.  
  
"That was for Diablo." Ryu hissed, before kicking Murdoc in the stomach, causing the albino to gasp in pain. "That was for Rashika." Ryu reached down, grabbed Murdoc by the collar of the shirt, then pulled a dagger out of his jacket and held it to Murdoc's throat. "And this is for Sasuri." Murdoc smirked.   
  
"Do it. If you think you're all that then prove it. I bet you don't have the courage to go through with it. You're too weak. You've always been too weak." Ryu growled and was about to rip the blade across Murdoc's throat when he froze. He pulled away and shoved Murdoc back.   
  
"I'm not as cold blooded as you are." Ryu bent down and grabbed the staff, then turned to Diablo. The dragon stopped and turned to Ryu. But before Ryu could utter a word, he felt a power building behind him and turned in time to see Murdoc shoot a spell at him. Ryu dodged it, but it hit the staff instead, knocking it to the ground and shattering the bone to a thousand pieces. It wass then that the heard two screams. One was a cry of pain, and came from Diablo as he died again, without the staff to support him. The other was a cry of anger, and the two of them turned to see Sasuri standing at the edge of the field, staring at Diablo as he died. When there was nothing left of the dragon, she turned to the two men, anger flaring in her silver eyes.   
  
"You killed him." She hissed, and a strong wind blew her black hair back as her eyes flashed to gold. "YOU KILLED HIM!!!" The moment she cried this, she brought her hands to her chest, pressing them against her heart, then threw her head back, screaming, and hundreds of jagged rocks burst out of the ground around her, causing Ryu and Murdoc to stumble as the ground shook. Ryu backed away, staring at the young woman in front of him.   
  
Sasuri opened her eyes and she saw Murdoc. Her eyes widened and she ran at him, tackling him to the ground when she reached him. Straddling his chest, she began to punch him over and over again, yelling at him in between hits. "You...no...good...lousy...cruel...heartless...son of a-Hey!!!!" She stopped as Ryu grabbed hold of her from behind and hauled her off of him. "Ryu! LET! ME! GO!!!" She screamed again and Ryu was thrown back from the blast of power.  
  
He sat up and watched her as she pushed Murdoc back and summoned some ropes, bonding him in place between two trees, his arms pinned to his sides. Murdoc struggled, swearing, then froze as Sasuri held a finger to her lips. "Hush now." She said in a tone that had Murdoc starting to tremble.   
  
Sasuri stepped forward, placing two fingers on Murdoc's lips, a thoughtful look on her face. After a moment, she pulled her hand back slightly, then slapped Murdoc hard. Her eyes glittered a deep silver, radiating her anger. Murdoc spit blood out from where she'd cut the inside of his lip, and looked up at her, his amber eye shaking. "Now, Murdoc, relax." She said in a whisper, bringing her face within an inch of his. Murdoc held his breath, his eye widening. Placing a hand on his cheek, she smiled in a way that made Murdoc's knees go weak. "Murdoc, you know how easy it is to take a life, don't you?" At these words, Murdoc's face paled. she was still smiling as she turned and summoned a dargger to her hand. With a flick of her wrist, Murdoc's shirt was ripped from his chest and he watched as she placed the edge of the dagger against his chest, then let go. It floated there, hovering a millimeter from his chest. "So easy.." She whispered, and Murdoc flinched as the dagger started to press harder against him.  
  
The dagger managed to break through the skin and buried itself a centimeter into his chest.   
  
"Sasuri, please..." He whispered. Her eyes flicked up to his face, their gold shade cold compared to the smile on her face. "Look, I'm sorry, but, I-I could help you find a new dragon's breast bone, and we can bring Diablo back. You just need to-"  
  
"Murdoc?" She interrupted, flexing her hand so the dagger pushed in another centimeter. "Who's Rashika?" Murdoc shuddered at the tone of her voice.  
  
"R-Rashika? I-I don't know who-"  
  
"Don't lie Murdoc, I can tell when you lie, and people lying to me makes me mad." He swallowed hard.  
  
"Rashika is Ryu's sister." He whispered, flinching as the dagger went in further, now a full inch into his chest.  
  
"That's right. And where is she, Murdoc?" Murdoc got nervous when he realized where she was going with this.  
  
"I-I....."  
  
"Come on, Murdoc. You know the answer to this."  
  
"She's dead." Ryu froze where he was on the ground, not believing what he was hearing, then his heart leapt into his throat at Sasuri's next comment.  
  
"No, she's not Murdoc. She's completely alive, and you know just where she is, don't you?" Murdoc gasped as she pushed the dagger further into his chest, and nodded swiftly. "I thought so. So. Where is she?"  
  
"She's in the dungeon of Lady Kavila's castle!" He finally snapped. She smirked.  
  
"Good boy." Then, in a flash, all the sweetness left her and she pulled her hand back, ripping the dagger out of Murdoc. "Now, I'm going to show you just how fun taking a life can be." Murdoc's one visible eye dialated with fear as she said this, and started to struggle again.  
  
Ryu struggled to his feet.  
  
"S-Sasuri. Stop this right now. Don't sink to his level. Don't-"  
  
"Ryu. Shut up." She muttered, and a burst of energy had him flying back several feet, slamming into the ground hard. "If you know what's good for you, Ryu, you'll stay out of matters that don't concern you." She then raised a hand and placed a finger on Murdoc's forehead. The moment her finger came in contact with his skin, white-hot pain lanced through his head. She just sighed. "This has gotten boring." Flicking her wrist back, she laughed evily as the dagger plunged into Murdoc's chest, killing him instantly. Ryu flinched at this. *S-she just killed Murdoc.*  
  
He felt fear wash through him as she turned her cold glare onto him, leaving the corpse to bleed out. She started to form something in between her hands, when she swayed slightly and leaned againist a tree, trying to catch her balance. *This must be draining her magic terribly.* Ryu realized.  
  
"Sasuri, you've got to stop this. If you carry on-" She glared at him and flicked her wrist at him. To his shock, he'd lost all ability to speak. She was about to retort when she swayed again and started to collapse.  
  
Ryu rushed forward and caught her just before she hit the ground. *Great, now what do I do?* He looked down at the unconscious form in his arm, then over at the dead body strung between the trees, and sighed. 


End file.
